Delusions
by 3rooke
Summary: Dawn is trying to hold on to him, but he's already gone. The last few years of her life feel like nothing but a foggy dream, and she finds herself stuck in reality.  Based on the ending of the Diamond and Pearl series - I couldn't help myself.


**Delusions**

Dawn twists herself into the thin summer sheets that lay over the bed. She had shaped them in such a way, that it felt as though he was right there beside her. His scent was woven through the cotton, and she kept reminding herself to never wash these sheets.

"Dawn, are you alright up there?" Her mother called. She noticed Dawn had stranded herself up there from quite a long time, which was rather unusual for her. Beginning to stress a little, as mothers do, Johanna decided to investigate.

Making her way up the stairs and down the hallway, she discovered her little Dawn curled up in the bed of the spare room – the same bed Ash has stayed in last night.

The pillow had become damp with emotion. He meant so much to her, the couldn't stand the thought of letting him go. Who knows where she would be without him?

She shifted a little, wrapping her arm under and around the pillow. It smelt of pine. Something she was perfectly familiar with.

"_How much farther, Brock?" Ash groaned. This had to be the longest they has ever walked in the course of a single day._

"_Yeah, for the past 7 hours we've seen nothing but tree after tree." Dawn added, her back slouched over, dramatising how hot the weather was becoming._

"_Not too far to go." Brock said quietly._

"_You're lost, aren't you?" Ash muttered._

"_Of course not!" Brock huffed, his voice higher then usual revealing more towards the truth. The two teens behind him stared at him knowingly. "Okay, maybe."_

_Ash and Dawn groaned in frustration before all agreeing to stop and set up camp. Apparently this area wasn't the safest to be it, especially when you were of course, which is why Brock has made them walk so far._

"_I think I might hit the hay a little early tonight, Dawn." Ash said, yawning mid-sentence. Brock had already gone to bed long before hand, leaving the two with the dishes. "That walk today got me pretty beat up."_

"_Sure. See you in the morning."_

"_You gonna be okay out here?" Ash said standing up._

"_No need to worry." She yawned, lazily waving her hand over to him._

"_Okay. Night."_

_It wasn't until Dawn heard Ash finally zip his tent shut that she suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over. She didn't really like being alone, to be honest. Howls and screeches filled the air, and telling herself these sounds were only Pokemon just didn't seem enough to calm her nerves. She felt her heart pump and her breath hitch at every unusual noise. The air became thick and frosty, and she decided to stand up and head to her tent._

"_Piplup?"_

"_Ahhh!" Dawn screeched, grabbing Ash's attention._

_He groggily unzipped his tent and poked his head out, only to find himself right back where he was a second ago. Only this time, with a terrified little Dawn clinging to his shirt like velcro._

"_Dawn?" Ash whispered, sitting back up. His arm wrapped around her back while the other held him up. "Are you okay?"_

_Dawn, too embarrassed to say anything, just nodded. The shaking stopped, but her grip stayed firm._

"_Do you wanna get off me now?" He smiled._

_She simply shook her head._

_Ash wasn't sure what to say to that. He just sat there, a little confused at what to do next._

"_O-okay." He smiled, lying back down and wrapping around her the little bit left he had of his sleeping bag. "Goodnight."_

_Dawn's eyes, wider then before, blinked a few times. She was a little shocked. But instead of sitting back up, she went along with it and pulled herself closer, digging her head into his safe, warm chest._

_'Smells like pine." She thought, and shut her eyes._

She wished she was back there, in that moment. But she had already let go of him.

She curled up even more, drowning in her sorrows. She pushed herself further into the sheets, as if she way trying to hide from all the pain.

The tears ran down her face all while her mother stood silently at the doorway. She was realising how much her little girl had grown over the years she had been away. He heart felt heavy, but this was all a part of growing up. Things change, and you can't always hold on to what you haven't got.

"I love you, Ash. Why didn't you stay?"

Further off, on the coastline of Kanto, Ash lay on the floor of his room. The only thing on his mind was her, and how with each second the ship took him further and further away from where he wanted to be.

Pikachu sat up on his bed, looking down at his pathetic-looking friend. He had never seen Ash like this before.

He sighed, surrounded by all the things that reminded him of her.

"_I guess, this is goodbye." He tried to smile, but his mask wasn't strong enough to hide the tears. His glassy eyes stared straight through her. "I'll miss you, Dawn."_

_The wind blew violently, almost making it hard to safely stand on the dock._

_Dawn found it hard to speak, feeling as though she might burst if she even moved._

_She nodded, her lips trembling. "I'll miss you too, Ash."_

"_C'mon, Ash! The ship is almost leaving!" Brock called out._

_He leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, swiftly and sweetly, before pulling back and taking one last look at her. He spun his heels and ran to the ship._

_Brock and Ash stood beside the railing, waving like mad men._

_The wind stung one more gust, picking Dawn's hat right off her head – almost taking Dawn with it._

_Ash watched it fly over and up to the sky, before it fluttered back down toward him. Carefully leaning over the railing, he stretched out his arms and grabbed onto it._

_He quickly looked back over to Dawn, almost wishing he this could be his excuse to jump off and swim back to her to return it._

"_Keep it!" She smiled, cupping her hands around her mouth. "This way you won't forget me!"_

_He laughed, "I don't think I could ever forget you Dawn!"_

_The ship howled, and they both watched each other fall into the distance. They smiles washed away with every wave that brought them further apart._

His grip tightened on the soft wool between his fingers.

"I wish I told you sooner..." He shut his eyes, imagining she was beside him again as they walked. He would give anything he could just to be lost in the middle of Sinnoh with her again.

As time passes, you find that the reality you once knew becomes nothing but a lost memory. Wishing becomes a lost cause, and you lose yourself in hope.

You find yourself holding on to nothing but the thin mist of _delusion_.

_**I couldn't help myself. I had to write something based on the ending of, the best series so far, Diamond and Pearl. There isn't going to be anything like DP (Especially with the way Pokemon is going now...)**_

_**R.I.P Pearlshipping.**_

**`3rooke**


End file.
